


The Remaining

by omnomeevee



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Apocalypse, F/M, Multi, Other, Post-Apocalypse, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2020-07-29 03:07:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20075098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/omnomeevee/pseuds/omnomeevee
Summary: There is fate and there are god awful, twisted circumstances. Both things end up bringing people together.





	1. In the City's Shadow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No matter where you are, somehow you'll hear about it.

News had been buzzing for a while about outbreaks here and there. Small, often controlled in a few hours. Nothing ever managed to reach father then a few mile radius. No one knew what was causing the infection. All of those who had been infected had been bitten by someone who was before. There was no other information on where things were stemming from. All they knew was that after a few hours there were obvious signs of sickness. A high fever, skin burning to the touch. It was often painful, feeling much like something was eating its way through the body. A burning feeling would eventually start in your chest. Once that was felt, there was no going back, not that anyone had any ideas on how to reverse the effects of those affected. Once the infection had reached the heart, there was only a short amount of time before you became one of the things news stations all over the country had dubbed “The Afflicted.” Humans who were no longer human. Those who no longer needed normal substance to thrive. Thrive. Not live. All of these people had had heart attacks and have been dead from then, but still manage to walk around, to attack those of the living. Primal instincts would kick in and they would no longer have normal thoughts, only the will to continue to keep going. They had no sympathy, no compassion.

But as much as the news had went on about things, there was nothing for a while. People went on like nothing had happened, like there wasn’t something wrong. Kids went to school, parents worked, the cities where busy and only faint talk was heard about the afflicted. Those lost to a new disease no one understood and had no true way of learning about. Maybe people should have been more cautious, more weary of what was a possibility of happening. Night fell on a particular city when the news broke. Obvious panic ensued when people noticed they were out in the open, not tucked safely at home. Even those at home felt afraid. The news talked of things getting worse, to try and get calmly to a place to get more supplies if you hadn’t started to gather earlier. They urged strength in numbers, to gather with those you knew, or even ones you didn’t, to improve chances of survival. They expected a great deal of loss, not knowing exactly how the infection spread just yet.

Four friends had figured the beautiful day should be spent together, at a large mall. For no particular reason, but to hang out, to shop, to enjoy the fact that things had seemed to die down. The emergency alert went off on their phones at the same time, as they were getting ready to head out. They stopped at the doors, watching as others scattered to try and get to their cars. A quick executive decision to stay behind the doors was probably a good idea on their part. Yes, they could have ran to their car and fled as everyone else did, but the surge of traffic would have slowed them down. They had no supplies, it was just them and the car. So they felt that this was the best place they could have been. They were all thankful they were there together, knowing each one was safe. Though they would never tell one another.

Three girls were wandering around a forest perverse when they got the alert. The alert though was not what caught their attention. They had been wandering for a few hours and as the sun went down they headed out. There was no reason for them to be there after dark, and the park closed anyways. Each stayed on the lookout for possible animals, so they didn't accidentally spook any of the wild life. One of the three stopped, undoubtedly the most observant of them, tapping the other two to get their attention. Pointing towards something that resembled a human, but groaned and hobbled around, the three of them dropped to the ground. They observed, watched, and would be lying if they said they weren’t afraid. In the near distance, they heard the sirens going off, but they didn’t need those to know what had happened.

Tucked away at home, a couple’s dinner was interrupted by the news on a channel that normally doesn’t show any broadcasts. The all too familiar blare of the Emergency Alert System fills the room as they wander from the kitchen to look at the t.v. Their faces drop as they hear the news, that the out break had actually happened and that things were only going to get worse. The two of them stood close, the guy wrapping his arm around his girlfriend, keeping her close to him as she nuzzled into him. They didn’t move. Another couple, far out and away on a small vacation, almost didn’t get the news. But when the older of the two couldn’t help but break their no phones rule, the younger couldn’t have been more happy about it. The minute the phone got connected to the very little service there was, it began to buzz. They were far from home, but not too far, so it shouldn’t be too bad to get back. They remember they were unable to leave right away, having just settled and unpacked to stay for the week. Panic hadn’t set in yet, so they tried their hardest to keep their heads on straight.

In the heart of the city was probably the most busy. The warm glow of the street lamps was a fitting end to this trios day. They were happy to have been able to make things work, the three of them not having a lot of time to hang out much anymore. School, work, and everything in between had gotten in the way. Passing by some of the shop windows, they see the screens of small display t.v’s switch from nonsense to something more serious. The three of them stop, watching with no sound, but still able to tell what was going on. Only for a second did a breath of relief take over them. They were safe, for now, but had no way home. On the opposite side of the city, someone had a mess of a day and figured taking a walk through the streets might clear his head. His head hung low, he was tired, he didn’t know what was really going on around him until someone bumped into him. He wanted to be upset, but seeing the rest of the people around him startled as well, he knew something was wrong. It made sense when he took out his earbuds. He wanted to run, but was unable to. Another loner was at home. His family had left, he was able to do as he wanted, and that meant he just hung around. Frantic knocking at his door caught his attention and when he opened it, his neighbor urged him to get safe. Yes, he was an adult by law, but his parents wanted to make sure he stays safe in case of an emergency. This was, in fact, an emergency.

In an open park area in the city as well, two separate pairs of friends were enjoying the cool breeze that the night brought when a rush of people from the inner city came. Some rushed to cars, others to the high-rises, but nonetheless, the two pairs tried to stay as close as possible. Sometimes, there wasn’t much say in whether or not things were going to go your way. Scared, the pair of boys held on to each other's arms. Tight grips that may have left marks on someone with softer skin, they pulled one another through the crowd. The couple, who wasn’t quite a couple, tried to interlock hands. Unfortunately, the mass amount of people that were suddenly around them made them lose each other. Frantic and scared, neither of the pairs got far. Sounds of various sirens in every direction make it hard to hear. It’s deafening, even, to the point that yelling can’t be heard too well.

One thought can be shared among all of them though; The worst has happened and no one knows what to do just yet.


	2. Take it or Leave it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somethings are more important than others. You are one of those things.

“Okay, cool, fine. We’re here. But what do we do now?” The tallest of the four asks. He was panicked, but tried to steady his voice. He was sure that by the time they felt it was okay to leave, his car would be trashed, so he wasn’t sure they’d actually get out.

“I don’t know,” Another pipes up. He’s slouched, arms crossed as he kicks at the floor. “I thought maybe you’d have some ideas, John.”

“John is worried about what’s going on outside, not what we can do to help ourselves.” The third leans against the wall. He glances at his friends.

“Well, you should be too, Yuta.” Johnny snaps back, looking at the youngest of them all. “Dude, please. Stop pacing.”

“Look, if no one else is gonna think about what to do and argue instead, one of us has to think.” Mark finally says something once his pacing is addressed.

“I agree with him…” Jungwoo perks up a bit now, looking around the bare walkways of the mall. “We’ve got everything we could possibly need here.”

“Almost everything..” Yuta mumbles. “No weapons in the mall.”

“Who said we needed them?” Johnny shakes his head.

“Have you see those things outside? Do you think they'll want to talk it out?” Yuta didn’t mean to sound so harsh, but he was scared. Happy that his friends were here with him, but scared because anything could happen.

“Why don’t we just focus on surviving at this point?” Jungwoo furrows his eyebrows and sounds a bit upset. “We don’t know how long things will be before they get better…”

“If they do..” Yuta says under his breath.

“Yuta, seriously, shit just got bad. Why are you so pessimistic already?” Mark throws his hands in the air for a second and shakes his head at Yuta.

“He’s watched too many Zombie movies.” Johnny has made his way to sitting on a bench, throwing his head back.

“HEY!” Jungwoo yells, “Is anyone even listening to me?” The other three turn to the normally pretty relaxed, fun loving Woo and stopped their bickering.

“Sorry…” They all mutter out in unison.

“What do you suggest we do?” Mark sits next to John, as the other two come to stand close.

“Gather supplies? Like look for book bags, each of us pack things in them and we stick together once we leave?” Jungwoo shrugs his shoulders.

“I mean, that should have been obvious..” Johnny nodded. “I’m sorry, guys.” He looks at Yuta and Mark. “We shouldn’t have been arguing..”

Yuta puts his hand on Johnny’s shoulder. “Yeah, yeah. We’re over it now. Let’s get some stuff and figure out what to do from here.”

“Oh? Look who’s letting the mass amount of zombie films actually help him..” Mark laughs.

“I thought we were done arguing?” Jungwoo smiles as they head off to looks for the first thing they need, bookbags.

The four of them peek into stores they walk by to see if they can spot a good place to start. Johnny speaks up as when he sees a JCpenney. “There’s gotta be some stuff in there that we can use.”

“They have bookbags?” Jungwoo hums as he meets up with Johnny. He nods as the other two walk up, walking past the security monitors and into the store. It takes them a little while to find the section, as they weren’t sure where to go, even normally. Aside from the lack of people, the mall seemed normal. It was still lit up, there was still soft music playing through some of the stores. Not much seemed out of place. Their steps clicked on the tile floor as they peered around corners in seperate directions, still in ear shot from on another. Eventually, they got called over by Woo, who pointed out the vast section they could choose from.  
“Probably should get the biggest ones, huh?” Yuta dug through some of the smaller bags, seeing if there were any they could use behind them.

“Yeah.. but not too big…” Mark started looking too, tossing a couple options on to the floor in a pile. Johnny and Jungwoo ended up doing the same, but time Mark tosses one in the air. “These are good!” He held up what looked like a hiking backpack. Lots of zippers, clips to secure it around their chests, comfortable looking straps.

“They’re dark too, so like, you won’t be able to spot them easily…” Yuta comes, picking up an identical one, except this one is camouflage.

“That matters?” Johnny laughs a bit, unsure if zombies really cared about the color of your bookbag. Yuta tosses him a bag too, which he promptly gives to Jungwoo. “Aren’t these undead like, still brain dead?”

“Not for the zombies…” Jungwoo takes the bag before Johnny catches another one.

“Then for?”

“Other people, Johnny.” Mark and Yuta say in the same flat tone.

“Not sure if we’ll run into too many people as we….” Johnny stopped midthought. “Wait, where are we gonna go from here?”

The other three stop as they realize they have no actual plan. “Good point..” Mark says.

“Stay here for as long as we can, but we’re still gonna collect stuff..” Yuta glances at his friends, who all look at him curiously. “Well like if we have to leave, we don’t have to worry about packing up and can just dip.”

“Let me guess,” Johnny starts, “You saw that in a movie?”

Yuta shakes his head, “No, it's normally what they don’t do in the movies and then they die.” He raises his eyebrows. “I, for one, am not trying to die.”

The rest all nod in agreement, talking about how to go about getting supplies from the random assortment of stores. Though none of them really want to, they agree on splitting up and collecting things as they see fit. Each fill the bag to the absolute most with random things, what ever could possibly help them when they have to head out. They try to watch their surroundings as much as possible, thought for the most part they feel safe. They meet back up in the center of the mall, tossing their bags down and staring at each other.

Mark points at the bags. “That’s a lot of stuff..”  
“Maybe we should look through it?” Yuta suggests.

“Yes and organize it too.” Jungwoo dumps the contents he had collected on the floor, the others following after. They designate their bags to certain things. “Johnny and Mark’s bags will have the food, Yuta can take some of the extra waters and drinks as and like, clothes. I’ll take the supplies, like lighters, ropes, these little pans,” He looks at them, surprised someone was able to find them. “And…”

“First aid kit?” Mark holds one up, getting ready to toss it to Jungwoo.

“Yes.” He catches it, then four of them finishing packing up.

Mark is midzip when he hears uneven foot steps behind them. Him jolting around brought the other attention to the sound as well.

“Hello?” Johnny calls out, trying to see if the person they see is in fact that, a person.

Yuta whacks him, “Have you never watched a zombie film?” his voice is hushed as he leans in towards Johnny.

“They’re movies, dude!” Johnny replies back, though he whispers as well.

“Guys…” Jungwoo speaks up over their slight disagreement as him and Mark see more figures coming in. The other two give no response, so Mark and Jungwoo both start to move back, grabbing their bags. Woo smacks Yuta’s head. “Guys…” He says when their attention is on him. He points to the figures close to them, still appearing pretty normal, but you can tell in how they walk that they aren’t.

Johnny and Yuta pick up their bags slowly as the get to their feet with the other two boys. Even with Yuta’s careful judgement, he steps back on some of the remaining pans they had decided they were leaving behind. The clattering caught the attention of the creatures and the boys all scrambled. The first to start running is Yuta, who is quickly followed Johnny and Jungwoo. Mark takes a second before he gets going, trying to get his bag fully zipped, seeing that things started to fall out. “Mark, Mark leave it there!” Johnny says, lightly grabbing his arm and pulling him with the rest of them. “We can get something else at some point! We can’t get you back!” They manage to run out to the same parking lot Johnny’s car is in, them all booking to the doors and hopping in. Johnny frantically turns the engine, pressing the gas pedal and speeding off.


	3. The Quiet Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Better to be quiet, or even so much as think, if you are not prepared to act.

The sirens only seemed to get louder as the three sat and watched the creature in front of them. The light around them was faint, as the sun was low, the shadows of the trees playing tricks with their eyes. “What the hell do we do?” One asked.

“Phoenix..” The brunette goes to hush her, seeing the tick of the creatures head as it hears a noise. “Talk a bit quieter..”

“Why don’t we run, Seren..” She talks through her teeth, glancing at the girl to her right. “Lyn… We should run, right?”

She shakes her head. “Not yet.. It’s still too close,” She points toward the trail they had been on before, “Start shuffling that way..” Seren nods, moving slowly as she tries to remain low. Nix and Lyn follow suit, making the sound of the underbrush crunching from their weight louder. Seren stops, seeing another quick turn from the creature as the noise gets louder.

“We’re screwed, it’ll take forever to get out of here..” Nix mumbles to Lyn, who is just sitting and trying to think of a plan.

Seren can feel herself wobble a bit, her weight uneven on her feet as she tries to catch herself from falling forward. Leaves crunch under her hands, but she still isn’t steady. When Lyn prompts her to go again, Seren hesitates. She wasn’t sure if it was the ground or her pause that made her trip, but she fell back with a thud, the sound of the fall catching the full attention of the undead. When it starts to make a rush towards them, Nix takes off, holding on to Lyn’s wrist as Ren claws to her feet trying to catch up to her friends. By the time she’s steady, the other two are well ahead of her. She quickens her pace, glancing back a few times to make sure the zombie isn’t closing in on her too much. When she does look back, it’s much closer then she thinks it is. White eyes stared in what she could only think was her direction. “Jesus christ..” She mumbles as she sees the trees clearing and the trail open up more.

Nix holds tightly onto Lyn as she runs. She doesn’t look back at all, Lyn looking back a few times to see where Seren was. She wanted to call out to her, but continued to just keep up with Nix as best she could. When they reach the entrance of the trail, they suddenly stop. Phoenix backs up, now out of Seren’s line of sight, looking at the large number of infected that were roaming. “Fuck…” She shudders out, keeping Lyn slightly behind her.

“Nix, where’s Ren?” Lyn asks, her eyes darting around as she keeps an eye out for anything coming close to them.

“Shit, Shit shit shit.” Phoenix starts to panic a bit, realizing she left Seren alone, not even sure she had gotten up from where she had fallen. “God damn it..” She says, making her way back to the trailhead and looking down it, not seeing Ren. She starts to get ready to call out to her before Lyn covers her mouth.

“Honey, no..” She whispers. “We shouldn’t be too loud…”

“Oh god we lost Ren…” Nix frantically tries to see if she can find her in the brush but is unlucky. “Lyn.. Lyn, we lost Seren..” Phoenix turns to her quickly, ready to take off again, wanting to find a safe place to be.

Seren cuts her way through the trees, at this point not caring if she makes more noise. The afflicted trailing behind her seems to find the sound particularly intriguing, but the uneven ground has made it hard for it to keep up pace. Pushing past some of the lower branches, she gets out of the wooded area and straight into Nix. In her fright, Nix grabs on to Seren, staring at her. Seren takes Nix’s hands off of her shoulders, roughly letting them go, crossing her own at Nix. “You left me?” She says to her.

“Ren, I didn’t mean to.” Nix extends her fingers towards her before retracting them back into a fist.

“I could have died, Nix!”

“I was panicked! I would have grabbed you too if I could have reached you!”

“Guys, I think these things like loud noises and you two are not helping!” Seren and Nix get jolted when Lyn grabs the two of them and takes off down the street. The two girls are able to see the swamp of infected behind them as they run.

“God, how are there so many here already!” Seren gets her hand away from Lyn, running alongside her.

“I don’t know but quick, go to the store over there!” Lyn changes her direction as Nix stumbles a bit, Seren catching her and holding on to her.

They’re expecting to be able to walk in the store and have no issues, but when they get in, they realize why the parking lot was empty. “What the hell.. The outbreak just happened..” Nix mumbles, glancing around.

“Doesn’t mean we didn’t miss a whole lot.. We have been gone for a few hours..” Seren slinks back a bit.

Lyn shakes her head, as the three of them stand in silence for what feels like hours. None of them move, too scared to really. They simply stay close, watching their surroundings. The groans and noises coming from the infected were particularly eerie. If they listened close enough, they could almost hear voices. Normal, undistorted voices. It made the girls shiver, but they tried to push the thoughts aside. They weren’t human anymore, there was no way. Eventually, after they all sort of collect themselves, Lyn leans in to talk. “I think we should look for weapons.. Maybe grab some supplies?” The other girls nod, looking over to see what they would have to fight against to get there.

“Should we just book it?” Nix speaks softly.

“Absolutely not!” Seren whispers, shooting a quick look. “Look, okay.. We start in the front, get some bags if we can, get some food then we head to the back corner…” She points in the directions she’s talking about.

“Why the back corner?” Lyn questions.

“Hunting gear…” She signs as she gets a funny look from her friends. “Look, I spent too many hours in the back of a Walmart to forget that they have some useful stuff back there…”

They all agree and head off. Light footsteps and no talking, collect a few things in cheap, over produced bookbags, but it’s all they can find at the time. They’re sure to pick the ones that look like they might be the most comfortable, but no one is sure how long they’re going to hold up. They each pack some food items in them, making sure they don’t over stuff everything. Soon enough, they make it to the back corner of the store, unnoticed by the wandering afflicted as they tiptoe around. Ren walks around the area pretty sure of what’s around, tossing a few things to Nix and Lyn as she walks. They’ve raised their voices a bit now.

“What are these things?” Lyn examines the thing in her hand, clicking a few things as random tools jump out at her.

“It’s a multitool, hon..” Seren coos, knowing that one of them was going to ask.

“And why do we need bear spray?” Nix says as she puts the can in her bag.

“I don’t know, it can make a bear stumble back,” Seren is frantically looking up aisles as she talks. “I’m sure that it can do the same to a zombie…” She back track a bit as her eyes light up. “Ah-ha! Got ya!” She excitedly whispers. She takes down a box, only to grab one that’s next to it. By the time she’s done, she’s got a few boxes in her hands as she sauntered over to the other two. “Here.” She hands one to Nix. “A bow. I know it’s not as helpful as a gun but we gotta make it work…” She looks at Lyn as she extends a box to her. “A crossbow.”

Lyn shakes her head. “I know right now is a bad time to be picky.. But I don’t really know how to use one..”

Seren nods, keeping the crossbow to herself, picking up a few boxes of arrows and a quiver for them. “How do you feel about knives then?” She says as she walks past the two of them.

“I can do knives..” Lyn nods as she follows her, Nix right behind them.

“Well good…” Seren had already given them a few pocket knives she had found as they walked past the display case. Lyn watched curiously as Seren picked up something much bigger and pulled it out of the sheath. She examined the blade before lightly handing it to Lyn. “A machete…”

“Oh.. Wow..” Lyn said, the blade being at least 10 inches. “I’ll be fine with it..” She looks at Seren, who handed her the sheath. Lyn safely tucks it away.

“Where is Phoenix? Wasn’t she right behind you?” Seren looks past Lyn and bops her head back and forth. “Hold tight.. Watch for me as I look for her.” Seren squeezes Lyn’s shoulder as she walks past her, headed down an aisle.

Lyn keeps her head when she sees someone else. Or what she hopes is someone else. Seren finds Nix staring at the glass that keeps her and the gun ammo separated. Ren stands next to her. “We should grab some, shouldn’t we?”

“We don’t have guns.. But it might be a good idea.” The two of them look at each other, realizing they had to figure out how to get the glass open. They struggle a bit trying to pull it open, to no avail. Seren steps back. “I think it’s a lost cause..”

“We can break it..” Nix mumbles, knowing that it isn’t the best idea. Reluctantly, Seren agrees. They search for something to swing at the glass, opting for something heavy to throw at it. Seren hand it to Nix, who took a deep breath before she tossed the object at the glass. Lyn jumps when she hears the glass shatter, letting out a yelp. The afflicted she saw earlier turned towards her, and she swears that she heard it talk to her. The creature hobbles in her direction, and aside from the soft, human skin, it’s no longer human. In between the screeches she could hear a few coharrent words, which caught her off guard, leading her to get lost in her thoughts for a second. This was once a person, someone with a family, people who loved them. Ren and Nix ran to the sound of Lyn’s yelp, all a bit too late.

Lyn doesn’t have time to react as the creature makes its way over the counter, so she pulls the machete and swings it, screaming when she feels the blood splatter on her. Her eyes widen when she sees the slip on it’s throat. His throat, she thinks. Clear, big brown eyes look at her as tears form. Not in her eyes, but his. There’s no reaction aside from that. He doesn’t reach his wound, he doesn’t scream. Ren ran over in time to cover Lyn’s mouth, figuring out what made the afflicted pay attention was the loud noise of the glass breaking and that a full scream would only cause more problems. The afflicted falls in front of them, laying on his back. His eyes darted around, locking on Lyn. Lips parted, she hears the same voice she thought she heard earlier.

“Thank you..” came though, garbled, not as clear as the girls’ voices, but still close to living. Lyn slumps to the ground, the sound of the metal clattering lightly on the floor. She breathes in heavily, staring at him.

Phoenix runs back and pats the two of them in a rush. “I got ammo, let’s go,” She speaks quickly.

“Lyn..” Seren urges. “Lyn let’s go, let’s get outta here..” Ren shakes her a bit to try and bring her to. Lyn shakes her head.

“He talked…” her voice cracked a bit.

“Lyn, Lyn listen,” Seren took her shoulders and broke her stare with the now dead. “He did talk.. Okay, I heard it too.. But he was going to die anyways. Okay? You can’t do this. We have to go..” Nix helped Lyn off the ground and started to head off.

Seren picked up the machete and turned around to face the infected that Lyn had cut. She laid her fingers over his eyes, gently shutting them before she caught up with the others.


	4. Home is Where the Heart is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home is sometimes a person, not a place.

Taeyong closed his eyes as Athena’s head rest on his chest. He took in a deep breath as they listened to the news.

“We’ve been advised that if you are in your home, please try to stay there for as long as possible. Block all low resting windows, make sure doors are firmly shut and locked. If you are able to take anyone into your home off the streets, please do so. Some areas are not as heavily affected at the moment. If you are low on food supplies, please call the number you see on the bottom of the screen for assistance from an official. We do not have much information at this time, so please wait patiently to hear any more updates.”

Athena turned to Taeyong, slipping out from under his arm and flicking the t.v. off. She glanced around their house, one they had newly moved into with one another not long ago, and sighed. She held her arms, Taeyong walking over to her. He held her face in one hand, rubbing his finger over her cheek. She searched his face for a second, unsure of what to say. “What do we do?” She spoke softly, her ears still ringing from the load alert system.

“Let’s go look in the garage and see if we can find any boards to block the windows..” Athena nodded, the two of them slipping on shoes to go outside. If they hadn't just heard the news or if they didn’t still hear faint sirens, the day would have beautiful. They heard a bit of frantic chatter beyond their privacy fence, but nothing more. They searched the garage, coming up a bit short on planks of wood, but finding a few unused ones regardless. Taeyong held them over his shoulder, as Athena grabbed the tool box, along with a box of nails. Taeyong motioned for Athena to walk out in front of him and head back into the house, him trailing behind her and setting the boards down in the living room. They gave each other sheepish smiles. “Start in here?” Taeyong laughs, grabbing a board and handing it to Athena. She takes it and holds it against the windowsill, as Taeyong puts in a few nails to keep it up.

“I never thought we’d be using these boards to block windows,” She shakes her head, “This is the type of things you read about in stories.” She smiles as they continue their way around the other windows.

“I had specific plans for these planks..” Taeyong bit his lip before he said anymore.

“And what was that?” Athena edged on the conversation.

He shakes his head and lets out a laugh. “Was hoping one day I could use it to make a crib…” He looks at Athena once he finishes the nail he’s on. His face was a bit red, a shy smile teasing at the corners of his mouth. The two of them talk back and forth as they finish the other rooms, checking the doors before they head back to their dinner. They continue small conversation, talks of the future and the things they would like to do. Even when there were moments of silence, they felt warm, at home. Safe, as long as they were together. As much as they tried to keep their strong faces on, pretending to go about their night, Athena could tell Taeyong had something on his mind. She didn’t say anything until they were done with dinner.

She walks up to him, her head slightly tipped to the right. He bent down and kissed her softly, holding her close when he pulled away. Athena smiled before she spoke up. “You’re worried about him, aren’t you?” She took a deep breath.

Taeyong nodded. “Yeah, I am.” He moved away to look at a picture of him and his younger brother. “I would call him, but who knows if he’d answer.”

Athena rests her hand on Taeyong’s lower back as she scanned the small display of photos they have. Very few had more than just them, but nonetheless, the pictures meant a lot to them. “He’s smart.. He’ll be fine..” She hums, hoping to ease her loves mind a bit.

“I hope so.” Taeyong wiped the glass of the frame, taking a second to remember his brother’s face. It had been awhile since they last saw each other. He pushed all other thoughts out of his head before he could really think about them. “I really do hope so..”

“He probably knows the in’s and out’s of things like this. He plays video games…” Athena trails off, “Or he used to, I don’t know so much now.”

Taeyong chuckled a bit, before he turns his attention back to Athena. “God, the timing of everything couldn’t have been any worse..”

“What do you mean?” Athena looked at him, particularly confused.

He shakes his head. “In all the time you and I have been together, I never imagined this night being like this.” He looks around at the house they had picked together, at the memories they had created, both together and not. He knew that no matter what, his heart was going to be beating out of his chest. He just wanted to make sure he was able to do it, incase something happened to either of them.

“What’s so different about tonight?” Athena peeks out the window for a second, seeing a relatively calm street side, the sirens now stopped as the street lamps flicker on one by one. “Aside from things going haywire..” She says, turning around to not see Taeyong anymore.

He stumbled is way upstairs to their bedroom, rummaging through a box in the back of the closet. He hesitated at the top of the stairs before he hopped down them. Athena had flicked on the t.v again, getting lost in the news, as she hoped for something good to come up. His bare feet padded across the floor, tapping her on the shoulder. She turned around and he smiles at her, not speaking for a second. The box in his hand felt heavy, but he swallowed back before he started. “Nana.. This isn’t how I wanted things to go but..” He kneeled down, steadying himself, the sounds of the television slipping away from him as his head grew dizzy. “But it’s now or never and now seems like a good time.. Just in case..” Athena smiled at him, nodding and hugging him before he can finish. He stood up, placing the ring on her finger and holding her close, only pulling away to kiss her.

“No just in case..” Athena whispered to him, her head against his. “It’ll happen, one way or another.” She glanced around their home again, taking in the moment. She wished the moment could have been different, that they didn’t have to worry about the possibility of it never happening. But the television took them out of their moment and swinging them back into reality.

“With how things are going and no clear source of the infection, officials are estimating about a week before power is cut in most cities’ homes. Please prepare for evacuation by that time.”

“I guess we're going to have to leave home after all.” Taeyong mumbled, as the two of them slumped on the couch. Athena curled into him as he gently played with her hair. He wasn’t sure if he was doing it to calm her, or himself.

“As long as we’re together, that’s all that matters..” Athena hummed, listening to Taeyong’s heartbeat. “As long as we’re together, we’re home..”


	5. Lucky Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes the odds really are in your favor.

A sigh of relief swept over the three friends who were standing around the window of the small little shop. “Why do we always sort of luck out?” The only guy in the group asked, putting his arms around the girls on either side of him. “I mean, we’re still here, but at least we’re kinda safe at the moment?”

People rush around them as they look to one another. “Well, Pie, we’re you’re luck charms apparently..” She nudges her other friends shoulder, “Especially Gracie here..” She smiles at her friend.

“Cordykins, you’re too kind..” Grace shrugs a bit into the man in the middle of them. “Really though, I wish I could answer that question for you, Taeil..”

“We’ve got one problem though…” Cordelia looks around, “Okay, a few..” She mumbles, biting her lip as she thinks.

“What would that be, Carnicor?” Taeil let’s her wiggle out from under his arm, keeping his other around Grace.

“Well one..” She pursed her lips as she glances around. “I have no idea where my sister is… And two, we took the train here, remember?”

“Oh, right.. And it’s probably packed now.” Taeil tips his head. “I guess we can get some things? You know, ‘cos there are some zombies running around not too far from here..” He tries to laugh off the thought. Even though they were safe at the moment, didn’t mean that couldn’t change.

“Why don’t we go looking around?” Grace speaks up, a smile on her face. “Let’s not worry too much while we still have the chance.” She interlocks her fingers with Taeil and Cordelia, walking the three of them down the street as they glance into some of the stores. Many of them remained nearly empty, as they were farther on the outskirts of the city to begin with. A few people here and there buzzing around, obviously a bit taken aback by the news. It isn’t quite like any of them imagined it being, though right now they were happy it wasn’t the crazy commotion they were expecting. They walk bit before Taeil holds the girls to a halt as he spots a store that looks like it might be helpful.

They walk in, letting go of one another’s hands and search around. It’s a small store, with a little bit of everything in it. Somethings even seemed a bit out of place, almost like they didn’t belong. Stuff doesn’t seem to have a rhyme or reason for how it’s set up. Cordelia picks up one of the wooden bats from a pile. “Again, we’re oddly lucky…” She hums, showing her discovery to Grace. “Why would there be bats for sale at a convenience store?” She laughs as Taeil comes around with a small handful of food items.

He points at Cordelia and scrunches his face. She shrugs, absentmindedly twirling the bat in her hand. Grace takes a few things out of Taeil’s hands to help him carry it. “I take it there aren’t any bags we can use to carry this stuff?”

Cord and Taeil look around really fast, Grace looking in the front of the store. “Will one of those reusable grocery bags work?” She questions to her friends who are behind her. She hears a unanimous yes from the two of them. They pick up a few other things, like a couple of lighters and news papers, in case they needed it for a fire at some point. As they go to check out, they sort through things mindfully. Once up there, the older woman at the register shakes her head as they scramble around for their wallets.

“No, please.” Her southern accent is thick, but she smiles warmly. “Please take all you can, I wish y’all the best. God Bless you three.” She nods. “Be as safe as you can and stick together.” The three of them nodded as they start to move out of the store, Cordelia stopping for a second to thank the woman, saying a quick prayer with her. They step outside and glance around, Cord catching up as she hops to a stop. The three of them stand for a second, unsure of where to go.

“Well..” Taeil crosses his arms. “Where do you suppose we go, my luck charm?” He turns to Grace, who seemed to be the one keeping her head the highest at the moment.

“Find a way to get home, maybe?” She tips her head. “That might be a start.”

“Probably a good idea..” Cordelia says, scraping her foot on the ground. “The other two may have thought of that by now..”

“Then off we go, on yet another adventure.” Taeil links arms with his girls, the two of them holding the items they just managed to get. They head off towards the center of the city, where they had originally started off at. They sang songs to try and keep their nerves down. The closer they get to the inner city, the more they realize how much of a panic everyone is in. Taeil didn’t realize how much of an adventure it was going to be.


	6. One is the Loneliest Number

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A one man army is easier to keep track of.

Sicheng stood in shock for a second once he pulled his headphones out. His eyes shifted around as he tried to get his head on straight and move. Jesus christ, why wouldn’t his legs move? It was the only thing he wanted to do at the time and he wasn’t able to. People around him were in a frantic, pushing past him, a few of them yelling at him to move before they gave up and took off with a few swear words. Really, if his day wasn’t already shit enough, it surely was shitty now. And it wasn’t going to get any better. Not that he expected it to get any better to begin with.

The city around him is in such disarray he can hardly tell the difference between those who are living and afflicted, not that many of the afflicted look much different any ways. Finally, someone running directly into his shoulder kicks his head into survival mode. He’s able to shake himself out of shock and actively look around, to find a way out of where he was. He takes off in an open direction, running as fast as he can. Of course, he doesn’t follow many of the mass crowds trying to take the streets and get somewhere. Who would he be following the crowd? Maybe he should have, but it was too much to think about right now. All he knew was that he wanted to get out of the inner city and be anywhere else, so he kept up his pace and didn’t second guess himself.

Inevitably, he gets out of breath. Feeling a bit safer he stops, heavy breathing and a quickened heartbeat to pair with it. He can hear his blood rushing to his ears, his head a bit dizzy. He thinks back trying to figure out if he had eaten and he could only remember the meal from last night. The exertion of energy made his hunger more apparent and he could really beat himself up for it at the moment. Of all days, he had to be holed up in his apartment feeling so sorry for himself he couldn't eat. He wonders if he should have just stayed home and let his emotions run its course. He would have been at home, he would have been kind of safe. He puts his hand on his forehead and shuts his eyes before running his hand through his hair. “You would have probably never left, Win..” He whispers to himself, realizing the timing would have been too much of a temptation to just not try anymore.

He shakes the thought, only to start wondering about her. He knew that this wasn’t the time to get lost in his thoughts, but he can’t help it. She could be hurt. She could be one of them now. She was on campus on today, what if she was stuck there? He throws his head back, biting at his lip. He wanted to scream and just forget everything, because let’s be honest, she probably didn’t have a thought about him at all right now. If anything, she was probably huddled up with the asshole right now, hoping he’d save her form anything that came her way. He opens his eyes at stare at the sky for a second before he heads off again.

He’s sees someone running towards him and he doesn’t think too much about it until they latch onto him. The groans and the partly whited out eyes take him back a bit before it clicks. He manages to get his arms free and fumbles on his belt to try and find his pocket knife before they came at him again. The force of them grabbing him makes him fall back and he struggles with the afflicted while on his back. They're strong, but sloppy with their directions. His one hand is finally able to grab his knife and he swings the two of them over, finally thankful for all the years his parents made him take martial art’s classes growing up. They claw at him as he draws his hand back, ready to put all his force behind it. He hesitates though, seeing the slight color of blue eyes underneath the clouding. He swallowed back, plunging the knife into their throat, right between the collar bones. He stays there for a second until the thrashing stops under him. His jaw stays open a bit as he helps himself up off the ground, closing his knife and putting it back.

He walks away, backwards, to make sure this thing doesn’t get up again, as he had no idea how to kill them and keep them killed. Once he feels like it’s not going to get up, at least for a long enough period to let him distance himself, he takes off again in a run. He manages to get himself to a less busy parts of the city, quiet for the most part, before his legs give out from under him. He props himself up on the concrete half wall by him and lays his head back. He wasn’t sure if he was going to get anywhere else at this point.

In a smaller, more quiet town, Xiaojun nods as his neighbor talks to him at the door. “Yes, sir, I understand..” He hums out as he finishes his sentence.

“You’re parents also wanted me to tell you that there was a gun in the house..” His neighbor whispers like someone was listening. “It’s in-”

“In the closet in the hall upstairs, little safety box to the right. Combination is 7-15-22-4. I know.” Xiaojun cuts him off, nodding. “I also know we have two down stairs in the basement. They're not in a safe.” He gave a small smile, a bit sarcastically.

“Well then boy, I think you’ll be just fine.” His neighbor pats Xiaojun’s shoulder before he heads down the steps and back to his house.

Xiaojun locks the door behind him and just walks back to the living room, putting in a movie and lounging on the couch. He could care less what was going on outside and there was no real reason to do much of anything right now, so he didn’t. He was alone, which truthfully did scar him a bit out of his wits, but there was nothing he could do about that either. His parents were states away taking care of business and he wasn’t sure if he’d see them again. Now way they’d be able to get home. He lets himself scavenge through his food after his movie is over, assortments of quick, easy foods that al college kids ate, and sat and waited as his pizza rolls cooked in the microwave.

He sighed. He knew his time at home would be short. He had little food, and the electricity was going to be shut off, word of mouth from his neighbor. He sat at the kitchen table and ate before he headed upstairs to find the gun. He jogged up the steps, sliding on his socks in the hall to the closest. He reached for the suitcase like safe on the top shelf and messed with the lock, it clicking open after the last number was done. He dropped the clip and loaded in the bullets, making sure he put the safety on before he tucked the gun in his pants band. He then made his way down stairs and got the other two, lugging them up to the living room with him and setting them all down on the coffee table. He made himself comfortable again, curling up on the couch, only to drift off to sleep. There was no use in stressing right now, he’d have plenty of time to do that later.


	7. Lady Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's a lady, and she's quite lucky. At least these three guys happen to think so.

Jaehyun reached for Kiara, trying to lace their fingers together so he wouldn’t lose her, but he was a bit too late. He grabbed at the air where she had been standing a second before, coming up empty. He paused, looking around, trying to call out to her. “Ki! Kiara! Ki, where are you!!” He cupped his hands around his mouth, hoping to make his voice louder. Kiara had been walking pretty much since Jaehyun had told her to get up. She was just following a small crowd, thinking Jaehyun was right behind her. When she turned around to make sure he was still there, she didn’t see him. She kept walking, keeping an eye out for him, knowing she’ll find him anyways. She always found him. They always ended up back with each other somehow.

Doyoung made sure that he had a tight grip on Haechan’s wrist, though Haechan was already holding on to him anyhow. Doyoung would be lying if he ever said he didn’t care for the kid, and the thought of losing him in a situation like this terrified him. The two of them tried to stay as calm as possible, weaving in and out of people to make sure there was enough room for the two of them to be next to each other. Haechan was glad he was with Doyoung, him being the person he was. Smart, a good guide, someone who thought things out before he acted. It was something that Donghyuck admired about him. He too would be lying if he said he didn’t care about Doyoung. He was like a brother, after all, helping him settle in college once he got there.

“Doie..” Haechan hummed, as the crowd pushed them back and forth a bit. “Neither of us have a plan, do we?” He laughed, trying to keep the mood light.

“For once in my life,” Doyoung looked over at the kid, “I don’t have a plan. God I was hoping you would have had one.”

“Nope..”

“Even with all the damn video games you play?” Doyoung cracked a bit of a smile as he said it.  
“Zombie games are not my favorite!” He chuckled back at him as they started moving again.

Ki bops her head around and thinks she spots Jaehyun. The hair color is right, the height seems about right, so she reaches out and lightly grabs his hand. Donghyuck, startled by the light touch, lets go of Doyoung to turn around and see what touched him. Kiara tips her head when he turns around, squinting her eyes. “Well, you’re not Jaehyun…” She laughs, bright and cheery. She glances down at the hand she’s holding. “Your hand is soft, though.” She nods, “Think you can help me find who I was looking for?” She smiles at him, and Haechan glances around.

“Shit…” He mumbles. “As long as you help me find who I just lost?” He looks at her with worried eyes.

“Of course! Who are we looking for, for you?” She says as she holds up their hands, which are still interlocked together. The two of them shrug, staying like that, in hopes in keeps them together.

“My broth-” Haechan shakes his head before he can finish. “One of my best friends.. What about you?” He asks, hoping Kiara didn’t hear his stumble on words.

“My sister calls him my soulmate.” Kiara says, noticing that Haechan seems a bit off by his own comment. She hopes the statement she made makes him feel a bit better. They go back and forth describing their counterparts, already looking for them as they walk. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?” Kiara looks up at the guy, she was holding hands with a stranger nonetheless. “I’m Kiara, but you can call me Ki.”

“Donghyuck..” He hums, “But my friends call me Haechan. So you can call me that, I guess.”

Meanwhile, Jaehyun is still frantically searching for Kiara, near tears if he was honest. In his panicked state, he walked right into someone. Doyoung, who was equally as frantic after just losing Haechan, starts to apologize. “God, I’m sorry. I just lost my kid brother..” Doyoung speaks out, quickly, eyes darting around looking for Haechan. He didn’t bother to correct his wording.

“No, no I’m sorry, I ran into you. I can’t find my girlfriend..” Jaehyun didn’t bother to correct himself either. “I’ll help you if you help me..” Jaehyun pleads.

“Deal.” Doyoung nods. The two of them tell each other who to call for, hoping the two of them saying their names together will be louder than when they do it alone. They try to stay close, every once and awhile grabbing on eachothers shoulders to let the other know they hadn’t gotten lost, too. Both the pairings call out, moving closer and closer to each other. Jaeyun and Doyoung move against the crowd, getting pushed back a few times in the process. Jaehyun taps his new friends arm excitedly as he spots Kiara. He can’t mistake her anywhere, her bright smile among the chaos, more than likely talking away to whoever she had managed to grab on to.

“That’s Ki! C’mon, let’s go! I’ll help you find your brother still!” Jaehyun grabs on to Doyoung’s wrist, pulling him to Kiara as he pushes past people. “Kiara!” He says, latching on to her as soon as he gets to her. “Jesus Christ, you would get lost at a time like this!” Jaehyun holds her face and kisses her forehead. “Thank you!” Jaehyun grabs Haechan’s face, kissing his forehead as well. “Thank you for keeping her safe, stranger!”

Doyoung shakes his head in disbelief. “How in the world did you two, out of everyone in this area, mange to end up together?” Doyoung hugs Haechan, who wraps his arms around Doyoung tightly when he does. “God kid, you gave me a heart attack…” Doyoung teases lightly.

“Wait, this is who you were looking for?” Jaehyun says, as the crowd around them thins out. Jaehyun now has his arm secured around Kiara, not wanting to lose her again.

“Yes, yes he is.” Doyoung lets out a sigh of relief. “What are the odds?”

“She’s a fucking miracle! Things like this only happen to her!” Jaehyun exclaims.

“Well, I guess this is bye?” Kiara looks at her new friend, a bit of sadness written on her face.

Haechan looks over at Doyoung, remembering neither of them have a plan, and knowing they have a long way to go. “What if we stick together?” He suggests, looking at Jaehyun last, who gives an affirmative nod.

“Well there’s gotta be some kind of reason why we ended up together…” Doyoung, who is normally not superstitious in anyway, feels the need to speak up.

“Then it’s settled.” Jaehyun says, holding his hand out to properly introduce himself. The other three follow suit as Jaehyun continues. “I guess we’re all apocalypse buddies now.”


	8. A Little Light in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Though things might be a bit rough, they know they have each other.

“Just, I don’t know, try and put everything back..” Lucas mumbled to Ten as he opened the drawer he had placed his things in maybe an hour ago.

“Lu, I know what much.” Ten spoke softly. He hadn’t meant to undermine Lucas when he asked the question earlier, but the two of them were scared. It was already late too, and Ten wasn’t sure how much gas he had left. He was positive there would be no use trying to stop at a station.

“Ten, really. There isn’t much else to do but to go.” Lucas tossed some things in his bag and then turns to Ten. He’s tentatively picking things up and putting them back, seeming to think about what’s going on. The outbreak was just another problem to add to their list. Lucas walks over to Ten, gently touching his shoulder to get his attention. “We’ll figure this all out later..” They exchange half hearted smiles, Ten grabbing on to Lucas tightly. He nods into his neck, staying like that for a moment.

“I know we will.” Lucas can feel his chest ache a bit as Ten speaks, not sure what the feeling is. “We always figure things out.” For a while longer, they stay there, just holding one another. No words, no movement. Eventually they continue, packing all they brought and heading out to the car.

The air is warm, muggy, and the clouds have covered the sky since they had been out last. The two of them stumble to the car in the dimly lit parking lot, the moon adding a bit more light to their path. There’s not much around them in terms of people, so they let themselves take their time. They knew they were a ways out, and once Ten started the car, he sighed. “Lu, I’m not sure how far we’re gonna get..” He tapped at the gas gauge, resting his head on the steering wheel.

“Just go until we can’t.. It’s better than us going on foot the whole way.”

They did just that. They turned the radio off, put the windows down some and drove. They didn’t worry about stopping, or how fast they were going, so long as they were headed towards home. They talked some before it went quiet. Lucas watched the world pass by him from the passenger side. The two of them had always liked taking car rides at night, just the two of them. It was how they started out. They’d stay late to study on campus, or, Lucas would, and Ten would sit around pretending to look busy. He’d insist on giving Lucas a ride home so he didn’t have to walk home in the dark.

_“Why would I let you walk home if I have a car?” Ten pestered._

_“Because I’m a big kid and I know my way home.” Lucas laughed, packing his things up._

_“Oh come on, Lucas.” Ten pouted, whining a bit. “I’d feel better if you let me take you home.”_

_“Alright, alright, but just this one time.”_

It wasn’t the last time, and eventually, they started going out on drives together regularly. Lucas remembers when they would stay out late, just talking in the car, laughing about whatever. Ten remembered too. He had been nervous that Lucas would stay away from him, considering some people in the past had. He didn’t want to get close to someone again for it to fall apart. They remembered the first time they kissed in the back seat. They held each others shaky hands and the kiss was a bit of a mess, but they laughed about it after. There was no reason for them to hide. But eventually the spark faded out. They both felt it and talked it through a few times. They loved each other, they knew that. They knew they wanted to be together, but maybe not in the way they were at the moment.

Lucas looked at Ten, in the moment they were in now. Scared, unsure of what was going to happen, Lucas took his hand and grabbed Ten’s. It was comforting to Ten, and Lucas felt better too. They kept driving into the night, until the car eventually gave out on them. Lucas looked over, his resting back on the head rest. Ten takes his keys out of the ignition out of habit, then turns his attention to Lucas. He took a deep breath and looked at the keys in his hand. “What use are these? Why did I do that?”

Lucas untangled his fingers from Ten’s, opening his door and hopping out of the car. He tapped the hood as he walked over to Ten’s door, opening it and lightly pulling him out. His lips curled themselves into a smile involuntarily when Ten stood next to him. “Let’s go home.”

“God, the walking. I hate walking when it’s dark out.” Ten mumbled.

“Don’t worry,” Lucas laughed to himself, “I’m a big kid, I know the way home.”

They talked among themselves as they walked, reminiscing about the last year or so. They two of them remembered how in love they were, how much they enjoyed being around each other. They lost track of time as they walked, not tiring much as the night went on. The air cooled down considerably. They huddled close, trying to not lose each other as they wandered their way in the direction they hoped was home. The conversation died down as they continued, the sound of their footsteps on the ground surrounding them. Ten couldn’t help but let himself get lost in his thoughts. Lucas was the first person he let himself get close to like this since high school, and the feeling was weird. Something about Lucas had drawn him in, but the two of them didn’t quite click. Not the same way Ten was used to at least. Lucas was gentle, kind, and a happy virus. It sometimes would put strain on the two of them, but they both had good intentions. He loved him and he knew Lucas loved him. But they weren’t in love. Or at least Ten wasn’t, because he had never fallen out of love with someone else.

Lucas also thought to himself once they had gone quiet. He kicked at the ground some as they walked. He kept his hands tucked away in his pockets, and an eye out around them. He could tell Ten was lost in his head. He normally was, sometimes too much. He wanted to help him, but Ten never wanted the help. He always would leave him be, because he knew that he would eventually tell him. They got each other, that was a fact. But Maybe that wasn’t enough sometimes. Ten stopped abruptly, making Lucas come out of his thoughts as well. Before he could say anything, Ten pulled him aside, crouching down behind a short concrete wall. Lu was confused, but Ten hushed him and pointed forward.

Lucas’ jaw tightened when he looked up, two figures in the close by, seemingly arguing. One looked far more violent than the other. As Lucas and Ten paid more attention, they could hear them arguing with another. Their shoulders drop at the conversation and they suddenly realize that the situation things are in is far worse than they thought.

“Oh, come on Cooper! Just do it,” The more violent one screamed, shoving the one they boys could only guess was Cooper.

“Adeline, I can’t do that!” Cooper yelled back, his hands on this girl’s shoulders.

“I’ve had a high fever for five days, Coop! You know this! You know what happens!” Adeline’s voice cracked as she spoke, her voice growing softer. “Please..” She seems to have lost her vigor, now starting to plead. She leaves for a minute, then comes back, pressing her hand, and whatever was in it to this man’s chest. “Do it, for the love of God Cooper, please.”

“Addie,” his voice is shaky as he cupped her face in his hands. She lightly pushes her hand that’s pressed to his chest.

“God damn it Cooper, I’ll do it myself if you don’t. I don’t want to lose my mind. I don’t want to go out like that.”

“Addie.. I can’t do it.”

She takes his hand off her face and places it on his chest until he grabs what she handed him. “Just pull the trigger…” Her voice was small, almost too small to hear her, “If you love me, you’ll pull it..”

Lucas shifted, wanting to go and stop him as he raised his hand, the glint of the gun making it apparent what was going on. Ten held him still, turning his back and slumping down the wall, Lucas following him in doing so. Ten covered his eyes as Lucas put himself around him. He always protected Ten, even if he wasn’t really sure why. Ten jumped when the gunshot went off, letting out a stifled scream. Lucas tucked into him, shutting his eyes when the sound went off. Neither of them wanted to look over the wall, so they crawled until they felt like they wouldn’t be seen running off. Far from what just happened, but no closer to what they were trying to reach.


End file.
